The first truly
idiotic and puzzling decision of the Obama administration is his recent decision
to bar the release of photos detailing US military abuse of prisoners in Iraq,
and Afghanistan. His rational makes absolutely no sense at all, and this
decision, paired with his virtual silence on the issue of universal health care
make me uncomfortable. I am beginning to see ads of the “Harry and Louise” type
on television. They are being financed, and run by the same group who “swift
boated” John Kerry. They maintain, through anecdotal, and
unsubstantiated claims that England’s public healthcare system denies care to
critically ill people, as well as putting such people on long waiting lists.
These assertions are as false as the libellous charges against Kerry were, yet
the administration is silent. Why not a series of prime-time messages from the
Man himself, refuting these baseless lies? A recent CNN/Opinion Research Corp.
survey revealed that 61% of Americans favor an increase in the Government’s
influence over their health care plans. Slightly more than six out of ten think
the government should guarantee health care for all Americans. With this level
of public support, why the stubborn opposition from Congress, including
Democrats to a public option? We all know the Quisling Lieberman is in the
pocket of the insurance lobby, could the ENTIRE CONGRESS be in their pockets as
well?

Torture…

The President argues
that releasing torture photos could further antagonize our enemies. He is also
on record as believing that the graphic depictions of torture, and other abuses
could put our troops in further danger, i.e.: if captured, they would be more
likely to be subjected to more “cruel and unusual” treatment than if their
captors had not seen the pictures.

What?

We just got rid of an
administration that treated us like children; the last thing we need is another
of the same stripe. Do you really think that our enemies are ignorant of the
fact that we tortured prisoners, or that they are capable of hating us more than
they already do? If you are afraid of antagonizing an enemy, don’t engage him in
warfare. In any case, what the hell difference could pictures make? Now that
everyone in the world knows they exist, don’t you think that releasing them
might demonstrate to that world that we are serious about our commitment to
seeing justice done? How is suppressing evidence supposed to mollify our
enemies? How would this protect our troops? I doubt that releasing photographs
would have any appreciable affect on beings that videotape the beheadings of
journalists and then go eat dinner.

Barack is starting to
worry me.

I imagine you’ve all
been aware for some time now that our blessedly former vice-president has been
in full cry of late; doing his mendacious best to put a fresh coat of paint on
the rotten record of the silly administration he was a part of.

He has been lying,
which is nothing new, the signal troubling aspect to his tour is the attention
he has been getting from the media. Every second his bloated face occupies the
screen is another second that might have been used for productive debate and
real journalism. He equates with “Jabba the Hut” from “Star Wars.”

Former VP Dick Cheney has been a vocal defender of
Bush-era interrogation techniques.

Levin, speaking at the Foreign Policy Association's
annual dinner in Washington on Wednesday, said an investigation by his committee
into detainee abuse charges over the use of the techniques -- now deemed torture
by the Obama administration -- "gives the lie to Mr. Cheney's claims."

The Michigan Democrat told the crowd that the two CIA
documents that Cheney wants released "say nothing about numbers of lives saved,
nor do the documents connect acquisition of valuable intelligence to the use of
abusive techniques."

"I hope that the documents are declassified, so that
people can judge for themselves what is fact, and what is fiction," he
added.

I hope so too.

Oh, yeah, almost forgot! It seems that some weeks ago a
44-year-old sergeant in the United States Army Shot, and killed five of his
fellow soldiers in Iraq. In Baghdad, no less! The sergeant, charged with murder,
and aggravated assault, went on this killing spree at a “Combat Stress
Clinic.” I had no idea these sorts of clinics were necessary, and in the
capital city of our very own china shop! The article goes on to state that this
spree was the worst one to date, implying that others (how MANY others?) had
occurred.

I’m not going to bother to go and look, but I’ve quoted
reports from army psychiatrists on the subject of “combat fatigue,” and its
dynamics. Now we see the consequences. You cannot keep rotating troops in, and
out of combat without these sorts of things happening. When you teach people to
kill, they kill. After a while, the “rules” start to blur, and you get behavior
like the Waffen SS in Russia, and Sergeant Russell (the poor bastard’s name) as
a result.

I seem to recall our President promising to “bring our
troops home.” I eagerly await the fulfillment of THAT promise as well as
the others he made. I hope the Department of Defence has the foresight to open a
few “combat stress clinics” here as well as in Iraq. Seems like a good idea to
me.